SoulFull Week Thirty-One

 

I guess you can tell how much I love ribbon because I use it a lot in my decor and junk/tag journaling.  I especially love crinkly seam binding ribbon.  

Happy Friday, Friends.  I hope y'all have had a good week.  We are STILL dealing with issues concerning my mother's estate.  I am hoping that things will be settled by the end of the month.  We need a little normalcy!

What did you think about this week's lesson?  I truly enjoyed it, and the timing of it (with the start of school this week for the kids in our neighborhood) made me nostalgic, reminding me of the ribbons I would put in our daughters' hair before school everyday when they were in elementary school.  

The crux of the lesson is "getting up and carrying on" in the face of change and challenges.  How do you renew your faith and maintain joy in the midst of the valleys of life?  I've been thinking about this all week, and I think it starts with a new determination each and every morning. 

I also appreciate Farrell's reading recommendations of books about faith that have given her hope through the years.  I have read two of them:  Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis and The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom.  I highly recommend them!  This week I started reading Madeleine L'Engle's Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art.  In it, she discusses what it means to be a Christian artist, and the relationship between faith and art.

Below is one of my favorite quotes from the book so far:

“Faith is what makes life bearable, with all its tragedies and ambiguities and sudden, startling joys.”

My Bible teacher Betty sent me a reflection this week that I wanted to share with you.  It is from  Steve Garnass- Holmes. He writes  about being filled with the "fullness of God." 

The Works

Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is God's pleasure to give you the entire realm. (Luke 12:32)

We ask for favors,

for this little victory, that little narrow escape,

and so often that's not what we receive------

because God gives us something else, 

something greater: the whole thing,

the entire realm of God's grace. 

We get this huge glorious planet,

the crashing seas and the rumbling mountains,

we get frogs and koalas and puffins, 

and moon and stars and a sun that never forsakes us.

God gives us gravity that holds us, and color,

and food, and wind, and rivers. 

We get the whole human family,

all our beauty and strangeness and woundedness,

our music and dancing and wild inventions.

We're given forgiveness and belonging and hope, 

a world mostly unrecognized where we are loved

and blessed and made whole, however broken we are.

We receive grace, hidden in everything,

whether pleasant or painful. 

We get God's steady presence, closer than our own nerves, 

breathing with us, hurting with us, rising with us. 

It is God's joy to give us the whole works. 

Even in trying times, it's OK. Do not be afraid. 

We've been given more than we need. 

Here is this week's scripture:

Prayer Requests

• Please pray for our blog friend Jenna Meon.  She is currently in rehabilitation for her walking.  She is still struggling with her standing.
• Rita has a praise concerning her brother, Tommy:  He was discharged last Friday, and he & his wife flew to TX to be with family there, and he will continue PT and OT.
• Also, please keep Rita's neighbor Chris in prayer as she battles her cancer.
• Kitty's grandson Connor is doing well as a corrections officer. Prayers that he can find a good relationship.
• Kitty's SIL Eric, Molly’s husband, filed for disability and hired a lawyer. Prayers that this all works out for him.
• Kitty's son Mike and his friend are working on a game for a company and need to have it done in three months and have a verbal agreement for another game. Prayers that they can get this done.
• Pray for my best friend Barbara who is battling cancer.
• Kris has a praise and a request:  Her little grandson and daughter and SIL are loving their new home in Michigan. Her daughter landed a great job running a huge 9 practitioner clinic in Michigan. Hoping the learning center that her grandson went to will open the new one very soon near their new home in Michigan so he can go to the same daycare and structure.
• Pray that all real estate transactions for my mother will go through next week.
• Praise:  Kitty's14 year old granddaughter, Ella, was baptized last Sunday, and to her DIL, Ella’s mom, who is Jewish, for supporting her decision. Julie also supported Avery’s decision to be baptized two years ago. What a beautiful blessing!

Late this afternoon I will be having coffee with a few high school friends.

I'm hoping we can go to the lake afterward because we have only been one time this entire summer!

Have a great weekend!

Until next time...

Blessings!
Ricki Jill